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Friday, July 6, 2012

Fast Friday - Peach syrup and jelly

I have a wonderful way for you to make peach syrup and jelly out of the bits you normally throwaway. Yes, what most of us never give a second glance to, the skin and the pits, can and do make a wonderful peach syrup and jelly. This means that you are almost getting it for free because most people throw them out in favor of the inside of the peach.
I had posted earlier that I had a bushel and a half of peaches but we were up to two bushels and a half. That is a ton of peaches and even more so in the camper. The truck that brought the peaches up from Southern Illinois had a flat tire on the way up so the half bushel we bought was mushed. They offered to replace the whole bushel and a half but we only took an another bushel. I know only right. I really wanted something to do with the peals and pits and I came across the idea of cooking them down to make juice. I took that idea a step further and made syrup and jelly from the juice I made.
As we cut and peeled the peaches (because they were bruised) the peels and pits when into the slow cooker. Later we blanched the peaches and those peels and pits when into the slow cooker as well. I then added in about 3 cups or so of water to cover most of the peach peels. I left room for the peach peels and the really bruised peaches to cook down. I let it cook overnight on low in the slow cooker and in the morning I turned it off to cool a bit. I used a slow cooker instead of slow cooking them on the stove because it has been 100 degrees or higher here in Central Illinois and I don't turn the stove on at all if I can help it.

Directions
Combine the peach juice and the classic pectin and bring to a boil that you can't stir down. Add in the sugar and mix well to combine. Bring the mixture back to a boil, stirring all the time for one minute. Remove from heat and skim any foam off the top. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes for pints.

The one on the left is jelly and the right one is syrup!

Peach Syrup
3 cups sugar (sweeten to taste)
8 or 9 cups of juice

Directions
Strain the peaches reserving the liquid. If you want a syrup that is not dark and cloudy, strain again using cheese cloth. I did not do this which is why my syrup is dark and has small bits of peach in it. Add the strained peach juice into a stockpot along with the sugar. Heat over medium high heat until it comes to a boil, stir often to dissolve the sugar. The longer you let the syrup boil the thicker it will become. I left ours on the thin side to use for snow cones. To can process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes for pints.

This is a great tip, Becca! We use our bit to make peach "honey" - that's what the kids called it when they were younger because of the texture and the name stuck. :) Hope your little guys wasp stings are better and you are having a great day!

It is great on pancakes but with the heat here our favorite use is still snow cones right now! If you want it a bit thicker to hold on to the pancakes more, warm it over the stove and add a corn starch slurry to it to thicken it.

My mon did this with any type of fruit peelings when I was growing up. I made jelly and syrup along with juice to use in my smoothies last year from peaches, apples and pears. All of the juice is gone now. Thanks for the suggestion of using the syrup for snow cream. I do not know why I did not think of that.